Acetylene-gas generator.



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APPLICATION FILED MAR. 23, 1906.

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JAB [ES MCRAE AND HAROLD INGRAM, OF LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNORS TO HENRYFREDERIO DUCK, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

ACETYLENE-G-AS GENERATOR. I

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 17, 1907.

Application filed March 23,1906. Serial No. 307,564:-

To all whom "it may concern:

Be it known that we, JAMES MoRAE, civil engineer, and HAROLD INGRAM,engineer, both subjects of the King of Great Britain, residing,respectively, at 107 Gannon street, in the city of London, England, and4 Gullum street, Fenchurch street, in the city of London, England, havejointly invented certain new and useful Improvements in Acetylene-GasGenerators, of which the following is a specification.

. This invention relates to improvements in acetylene generators of thekind known as the wet system generators, in which the carbid of calciumis contained in a chamber at the bottom of a bell shaped vessel intowhich water contained in an outer tank can onter or be forced outaccording to the pressure of the gas generated.

The object of the present invention is to enable the generation of thegas to be shut off at any moment during generation and to prevent aftergeneration for any desired period. It also provides for the automaticseparation of the refuse and permits the unconsumed charge to bewithdrawn at any period of the generating process for storage purposesand future use. To effect this purpose the carbid chamber is formed of aseries of compartments separated by wire disks which may be separatelybuilt up with supporting pieces in the center and placed in an outershell, in order to let the parts be separately taken out for chargingthe carbid into the separate compartments, or the outer shell can bedispensed with and the chamber be built up of wire gauze with separatingdisks provided with suitable doors at the side for charging.

The lowest compartment is always left empty but all the others beingcharged the apparatus is ready for generation. On water being admittedto the bottom of the charging chamber it attacks the carbid contained inthe second chamber, generating gas which rises through the otherchambers to the gas outlet, the refuse in the meantime falling throughthe perforated wire disk into the lowest chamber. On the gas being cutoff for a time sufiicient gas is generated to cause the water to beforced out of the bell in order to prevent its acting further on thecarbid until required. Such carbid being also out of contact with thewet refuse, no further gas is generated until required. The operation isrepeated in connection with each compartment, each such acting as arefuse chamber for the next compartment above until the whole of thecarbid has been utilized, when the apparatus can be recharged andoperated in a similar manner.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a central vertical section ofthe improved generator; Fig. 2 is a detail showing one method ofbuilding up the carbid chamber; and Fig. 3 a similar detail showing amodilied construction of the carbid chamber.

Referring first to Fig. 1, within the water containing outer vessel oris a bell-shaped gas receiver 5 within which is the carbid chamberconsisting of an outer shell or vessel c, which is open at the top andclosed at the bottom except for an aperture or tube (1 communicatingwith the water vessel (1, and a series of perforated trays e, placed oneover the other, on which are stacked the lumps or blocks of calciumcarbid f. The holes in the trays are of such size as to enable thecalcium refuse as it is formed to pass through under its own weight orthe pressure of the super-incumbent carbid into the receptacle formed bythe lower part of the shell 0, which should be of a capacity sufficientto accommodate the refuse of at least one tray charge .of carbid.

The trays are preferably formed, as shown in Fig. 2, of wire gauze disks6, the edges of which are clamped between and stiffened by metal rings 6which are provided with supporting legs 6 Handles a may be afiixed tothe trays for convenience in removing them from, and replacing them inthe shell 0 when charging the chamber with carbid, or removing unspentcarbid therefrom. Alternatively, the trays may be combined with thecontaining shell in an integral structure as shown in Fig. 3, in whichcase each compartment 6 is provided with a side door 0 for charging ordischarging purposes.

The gas delivery pipe g leading from the bell receiver b is suitablysecured to the roof thereof and also to a strap or cover h which isdetachably fixed over the mouth of the water vessel a by any suitablemeans. The bell itself is further secured to the cover h by straps i. Acock 9 in the delivery pipe controls the outflow of the gas.

When the carbid chamber is charged and the bell secured in position asshown in Fig. 1 with the cock 9 closed, the water placed in the outervessel a enters the shell 0 through the pipe d, which is preferablyclosed at the top and has lateral openings to prevent choking withcalcium refuse, but it is prevented from reaching the carbid trays bythe pressure of the air trapped and compressed within the bell, untilthe cock 9 is opened, whereupon generation of gas begins, and proceedsat a rate corresponding to the consumption of the lamp or lamps suppliedfrom the generator, a

, diminution of consumption causing an increase of pressure in the belland consequently causing the water to recede partly or entirely fromcontact with the carbid and correspondingly reducing the rate ofgeneration.

So far the operation of the generator is in no way different from wetsystem generators of known types, but the arrangement of trays abovedescribed which constitutes part of the present invention enables thespent and water logged calcium refuse to separate from the unspentcarbid as it is formed and subside through the water to the bottom ofthe vessel, so that when the cock is closed and the water recedes byvirtue of the increase of gaseous pressure in the bell out of contactwith the unspent carbid, there is little or none of the water-loggedrefuse left in contact with the unspent carbid and consequentlyafter-generation of gas from this cause is obviated.

Having thus described the nature of our said invention and the bestmeans we know of carrying the same into practical effect, we claim:-

l. A wet system acetylene generator comprising an outer water vessel, abell-shaped gas receiver having its lower end sealed by the water in theouter vessel and an eduction tube at its upper end detachably secured tothe said outer vessel, a multi-stage carbid holder within the bellreceiver having a plurality of carbid trays arranged one above the otherand adapted to be separately charged, a refuse compartment under thebottom tray, having a solid base and an opening therein fitted with alaterally perforated vertical tube, said tube being closed at its upperend and opening at its lower end into the outer water vessel;substantially as described.

2. A wet system acetylene generator comprising an outer water vessel, abell-shaped gas receiver having its lower end sealed by the water in theouter vessel and an eduction tube at its upper end detachably secured tothe said outer vessel, a multi-stage carbid holder within the bellreceiver having a plurality of superposed compartments each having adoor for the supply and withdrawal of the charge of calcium carbid and areticulated grid supporting the carbid blocks, said reticulationsforming a large proportion of the total area of the grid, a refusecompartment under the bottom tray, and means for allowing the passage ofwater in either direction between the water vessel and refuse chamber,while retaining the refuse within the said chamber substantially asdescribed.

3. A wet system acetylene generator comprising an outer water vessel, abell-shaped gas receiver having its lower 1 end sealed by the water inthe outer vessel and an eduction tube at its upper end detachablysecured to the said outer vessel, a multistage carbid holder within thebell receiver having a plurality of superposed compartments each havinga door for the supply and withdrawal of the charge of calcium carbid anda reticulated grid supporting the carbid blocks, said reticulationsforming a large proportion of the total area of the grid, and a refusechamber located JAMES MCRAE. HAROLD INGRAM.

Witnesses OLIVER IMRAN, JOSEPH MiLLAnn.

